Phonograph record player

ABSTRACT

In a phonograph record player, an improved control mechanism is provided for effecting lead-in movement of the tone arm from an elevated rest position outside the perimeter of the turntable to an adjustably and accurately selected set-down position of the stylus on a record supported by the turntable so as to commence a play operation, and for effecting a return movement of the tone arm to its rest position upon termination of the play operation. In such control mechanism, a pivoted main lever is made to swing in first and second directions by a cam follower thereon engaging in a cam groove of a control gear when the latter is turned for effecting the lead-in and return movements, a lead-in lever is mounted for pivoting about an axis apart from the axis of swinging of the tone arm and urged by means of a releasable coupling to follow the swinging of the main lever in such first direction and causes corresponding swinging of the tone arm in the direction of the lead-in movement of the latter, and an adjustable abutment on the lead-in lever is engageable with a selected edge portion of a record size selecting member which is turnable about a fixed axis and which has a plurality of edge portions at different radial distances from that fixed axis, so that engagement of the abutment with a selected one of the edge portions limits the swinging of the lead-in lever with the main lever for accurately determining the set-down position.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to phonograph record players, and moreparticularly is directed to an improved phonograph record player controlmechanism for effecting lead-in-movement of a tone arm from an elevatedrest position outside the perimeter of a turntable to a selectedset-down position on a record supported by the turntable so as tocommence a play operation, and for effecting a return movement of thetone arm to its rest position upon the termination of the playoperation.

2. Description of the Prior Art

In a known so-called automatic phonograph record player, for example, asdisclosed in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 3,438,635, a control mechanism isprovided for effecting automatic lead-in movement of the tone arm froman elevated rest position outside the perimeter of the turntable to aselected one of a plurality of set-down positions of the stylus on arecord supported by the turntable so as to commence a play operation atthe selected set-down position, and for automatically effecting a returnmovement of the tone arm to its rest position upon termination of theplay operation. In such control mechanism, a control gear is turnedduring the lead-in and return operations and is formed wth a radial camon its upper surface and a cam groove in its lower surface. The camgroove is engaged by a follower on one end of a link member which islongitudinally reciprocable and which, at its other end, is formed witha cam surface for controlling an arm lifter by which raising andlowering of the tone arm is effected. The radial cam on the uppersurface of the control gear is engaged by a follower depending from acam plate which is guided by pin and slot mountings for longitudinalreciprocation in a direction that extends through the rotational axis ofthe control gear, and a spring acts on the cam plate to urge the latterin the direction for maintaining contact of its follower with the radialcam. An oblique cam surface is formed on the cam plate and is engageableby a follower at one end of a link which is guided, by pin and slotmountings, for longitudinal reciprocation at right angles to thereciprocation of the cam plate, and which, at its other end, isconnected to the tone arm assembly for effecting swinging of the tonearm in response to longitudinal movement of the link. In order toprovide for selection of the set-down or start-of-play position, theknown control mechanism includes a rotatable selector knob connectedthrough a link with a rotatable disk which is provided with a pluralityof abutments that can be selectively operatively positioned forengagement by a pin on the cam plate in response to turning of theselector knob.

The above described known phonograph record player control mechanism hasa number of disadvantageous characteristics. To begin with, the pin andslot mountings, by which the cam plate and the link carrying thefollower for engagement with the cam surface on such cam plate areguided for longitudinal reciprocation at right angles to each other,inherently have a substantial degree of lateral play which materiallyaffects the accuracy of the set-down position of the stylus dependingfrom the pickup at the free end of the tone arm. In other words, byreason of the described lateral play, substantial variations can occurin the set-down position established by the engagement of the pin on thecam plate with a selected one of the abutments on the set-down positionselecting disk. Further, by reason of the described relatively complexmechanical arrangement by which swinging of the tone arm is controlledduring its lead-in movement, it is inevitable that, in the manufactureand assembly of the parts of such complex mechanical arrangement,variations will occur from one record player to the next in the set-downpositions of the tone arm corresponding to the several abutments on theset-down position selecting disk. Moreover, no provision is made foreffecting the fine adjustment of such set-down positions so as tocompensate for the variations occurring during manufacture and assembly.Furthermore, in the described control mechanism, the longitudinallyreciprocable link carrying the follower which is engageable with the camplate for effecting the lead-in movement of the tone arm to the desiredset-down position remains connected to the tone arm assembly during thesubsequent play operation and thus may adversely influence the trackingof the record groove by the pickup stylus.

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a phonographrecord player control mechanism which overcomes the above describeddisadvantages of the prior art.

More specifically, it is an object of this invention to provide a recordplayer control mechanism for automatically effecting the lead-in andreturn movements of the tone arm, and by which the set-down position ofthe tone arm for the commencement of a play operation can be adjustablyand accurately selected.

Another object is to provide a record player control mechanism, asaforesaid, which is arranged for relatively simple manufacture andassembly, and for minimizing the variations in the set-down positionsbetween one record player and the next due to necessary manufacturingtolerances.

In accordance with an aspect of this invention, a record player controlmechanism comprises a main lever made to swing in first and seconddirections by engagement of a cam follower thereon in a cam groove of acontrol gear which is turned during the lead-in and return operations, alead-in lever which pivots about an axis apart from the swinging axis ofthe tone arm and is urged, by means of a releasable coupling, to followthe swinging of the main lever in the first direction and which causescorresponding swinging of the tone arm in the direction of the lead-inmovement of the latter, and an abutment on the lead-in lever engageablewith a selected edge portion of a record size selecting member which isturnable about a fixed axis and which has a plurality of edge portionsat different radial distances from such fixed axis, so that engagementof the abutment with a selected one of the edge portions limits theswinging of the lead-in lever with the main lever for accuratelydetermining the set-down position of the tone arm.

It is a feature of this invention to make the abutment on the lead-inlever adjustable in respect to the latter so as to effect fineadjustment of the set-down positions established by engagement of suchabutment with selected edge portions of the record size selectingmember.

It is a further feature of this invention to control the raising andlowering of the tone arm by means of the main lever, and further topermit access to the abutment on the lead-in lever for adjustmentthereof only when the main lever is in a stop position at which the tonearm is elevated so that, if the tone arm is accidentally displaced fromits rest position and swings over the turntable during adjustment of theabutment, neither a record on the turntable nor the pickup stylus can bedamaged.

The above, and other objects, features and advantages of this invention,will be apparent in the following detailed description of illustrativeembodiments thereof which is to be read in connection with theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a phonograph record player according tothis invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the record player of FIG. 1 with itsturntable and an upper panel of its cabinet being partly broken away;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of a tone arm assembly and a controlmechanism of the record player of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the tone arm assembly and of an armlifter and cueing control for the tone arm which are shown in section;

FIGS. 5A and 5B are plan views showing the control mechanism of therecord player in its stop or rest condition and in its play condition,respectively;

FIG. 6 is a detail sectional view taken along the line VI--VI on FIG.5A;

FIGS. 7A-7E are plan views particularly showing a control gear, a mainlever and a lead-in lever of the record player control mechanism invarious positions of the control gear for illustrating the manner inwhich the main lever and lead-in lever are driven;

FIGS. 8A-8C are plan views illustrating the operation of a return drivemember of a tone arm drive mechanism in several positions of the controlgear;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating the braking mechanism and therelation of the latter to the tone arm assembly;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged detail sectional view taken along the line X--Xon FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view showing elements of the tone armdrive mechanism;

FIG. 12 is a plan view of a record size selecting mechanism;

FIG. 13 is a sectional view taken along the line XIII--XIII on FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a fragmentary enlarged plan view of a portion of the recordsize selecting mechanism of FIG. 12;

FIG. 15 is an enlarged detail sectional view of a detent assemblyincluded in the record size selecting mechanism;

FIG. 16 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view of an adjustable abutmentincluded in the record size selecting mechanism for effecting fineadjustment of the set-down position;

FIG. 17 is a sectional view taken along the line XVII--XVII on FIG. 16.

FIGS. 18 and 19 are plan views showing lead-in and return clutchmechanisms associated with the control gear and an actuator for suchclutch mechanisms, with the control gear being illustrated in its stopposition and in its play position, respectively;

FIG. 20 is a view similar to a portion of FIGS. 18 and 19, but showingthe condition of the clutches in the course of the return movement ofthe control gear;

FIG. 21 is a sectional view taken along the line XXI--XXI on FIG. 18;and

FIG. 22 is a view similar to that of FIG. 12, but showing a modificationof the record size selecting mechanism.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to the drawings in detail, and initially to FIG. 1 thereof, itwill be seen that a fully automatic record player 10 according to anembodiment of this invention is there illustrated to comprise a cabinet11 having a deck or upper panel 12 and a pivoted dust cover 13 forenclosing a space above upper panel 12, a turntable 14 which isrotatably supported above upper panel 12 on a driving shaft or spindle15, and a tone arm assembly 16 mounted, as hereinafter described, on atone arm support bracket 17 which is secured to a rear portion of upperpanel 12 adjacent the perimeter of turntable 14. A start-stop switchactuator 18, a repeat switch actuator 19 and a power ON-OFF switchactuator or knob 20 are mounted at a front panel 21 of cabinet 11adjacent one side of the latter, and a record size selecting knob 22 ismounted on the front portion of upper panel 12 adjacent the same side ofthe cabinet as switch actuators 18-20. Switch controlling push-buttons23 and 24 extend upwardly from the front portion of upper panel 12adjacent the side of cabinet 11 remote from knob 22 and are selectivelyactuable for determining the speed of rotation of turntable 14, andknobs 25 and 26 are mounted adjacent push-buttons 23 and 24,respectively, and are selectively rotatable for effecting fineadjustment of the turntable speeds determined by selective actuation ofthe respective push-buttons.

As shown particularly on FIG. 3, tone arm assembly 16 conventionallyincludes an elongated tone arm 27 mounted adjacent one end, as by agimbal 28, on the upper end of a vertical shaft 29 which is rotatable insuitable bearings carried by support bracket 17, a counter-weight 30extending from the mounted end of tone arm 27, and a head-shell 31extending from the opposite or free end of tone arm 27 to accommodate acartridge 32 from which a stylus or needle 33 depends. By reason of theabove mounting of tone arm assembly 16, tone arm 27 is capable oflateral swinging movement about the vertical axis of shaft 29 acrossturntable 14 and also is capable of being raised and lowered about thehorizontal axis of gimbal 28 relative to turntable 14 between anelevated rest position outside the perimeter of the turntable where tonearm 27 may be disposed on an arm rest 34, as shown on FIG. 1, and aninner position, for example, as indicated in broken lines at 16' on FIG.19 and which corresponds to the engagement of the stylus 33 of pickup 32in the conventional final non-recorded groove portion of a record R(FIG. 3) on turntable 14.

A chassis 35 (FIGS. 2 and 3) is suitably suspended under upper panel 12of cabinet 11, and an electric motor (FIG. 2) is mounted below a portionof chassis 35 and directly drives the driving shaft 15 on whichturntable 14 is mounted. An arcuate arm lifter 37 (FIGS. 1, 3 and 4)extends under tone arm 27 in all positions of the latter and is mountedon the upper end of a vertically movable shaft 38 which is slidable in abearing 39 (FIG. 4) formed in a portion of support bracket 17 offsetforwardly from shaft 29. It will be apparent that tone arm 27 is raisedand lowered, for example, between the positions shown in full and brokenlines on FIG. 4, in response to vertical movements of shaft 38 and ofthe arm lifter 37 therewith. As will be apparent hereinafter, the recordplayer 10 is capable of either fully automatic operation or manualoperation in dependence on the positioning of record size selecting knob22. When manual operation is selected, the vertical movements of armlifter 37, and hence the raising and lowering of tone arm 27, may beeffected by a manually actuable cueing control handle 40 (FIG. 1) whichis adapted to turn a shaft 41 journalled in support bracket 17 (FIG. 4)and carrying a cam 42 disposed under an abutment 43 on shaft 38. It willbe apparent that, in response to turning of shaft 41 by handle 40, cam42 acts against abutment 43 to determine the vertical position of armlifter 37.

The illustrated record player 10 according to this invention furthercomprises an automatic control mechanism 44 which is shown on FIG. 2 togenerally comprise a control gear assembly 45 operable from the drivingshaft or spindle 15, an actuating slide 46 for initiating operations ofcontrol gear assembly 45, a main lever 47 movable in response tooperation of control gear assembly 45, a lead-in lever 48 adapted to becoupled with main lever 47 for following the movement of the latterduring swinging or lead-in of tone arm 27 to a predeterminedstart-of-play or set-down position of the stylus on a record R, a recordsize selecting mechanism 49 for determining such start-of-play orset-down position under the control of knob 22, and a brake mechanism 50for frictionally braking the swinging movement of tone arm 27 duringlead-in of the latter from its rest position to the predeterminedset-down position and during the return swinging movement of the tonearm to its rest position. Furthermore, as shown on FIGS. 5A and 5B,automatic control mechanism 44 generally comprises a tone arm drivemechanism 51 through which the lead-in and return swinging movements oftone arm 27 are effected in response to corresponding movements of mainlever 47 and lead-in lever 48.

As shown particularly on FIGS. 20 and 21, the control gear assembly 45includes a drive gear or pinion 52 secured on driving shaft 15 abovechassis 35, and a driven or control gear 53 which is rotatably mountedon a shaft 54 which projects upwardly from chassis 35. The upper portionof the periphery of control gear 53 is formed with two sets of gearteeth 55a and 55b each extending along slightly less than one-half ofthe circumference of gear 53, with the sets of gear teeth 55a and 55bbeing separated from each other by diametrically opposed toothless gaps56a and 56b. The shaft 54 supporting control gear 53 is positioned inrespect to driving shaft 15 so as to provide meshing engagement ofpinion 52 with the set of teeth 55a or 55b when the respective set ofteeth faces toward shaft 15 so as to drive gear 53 from the latter;whereas, shaft 15 and pinion 52 can continue to rotate with control gear53 remaining at rest when such gear 53 is disposed with either thetoothless gap 56a and 56b facing toward shaft 15, as shown on FIGS. 5Aand 5B, respectively. During the engagement of gear teeth 55a withpinion 52 and the corresponding one-half revolution or lead-in movementof control gear 53, control mechanism 44 effects the lead-in of tone armassembly 16 from its rest position to the predetermined set-downposition of the stylus on a record and, during the engagement of gearteeth 55b with pinion 52 and the corresponding one-half revolution orreturn movement of gear 53, control mechanism 44 effects the return oftone arm assembly 16 to its rest position, as hereinafter described indetail.

In order to effect the lead-in and return swinging movements of tone armassembly 16 in response to turning of control gear 53, a cam groove 57is formed in control gear 53 and opens downwardly at the lower surfaceof the latter (FIG. 21). As shown particularly on FIGS. 7A-7E and 8A-8C,cam groove 57 is heart-shaped so as to include cam groove portions 57aand 57b which are symmetrical to each other and respectively operativeto effect the lead-in and return swinging movements of tone arm assembly16. By reason of the heart-shaped configuration of cam groove 57, aninverted cusp or depression 57c is defined in the outer wall surface ofcam groove 57 at the connection of cam groove portion 57a to cam grooveportion 57b, and a similar inverted cusp or depression 57d is formed inthe inner wall surface of cam groove 57 at the connection of cam grooveportion 57b to cam groove portion 57a. The periphery of the lowerportion of the control gear 53 defines a radial cam 58 (FIGS. 7A-7E) forcontrolling a micro-switch SW₁ mounted on chassis 35 (FIG. 6), and suchradial cam is comprised of a radially raised cam portion 58a actuatingswitch SW₁ during the lead-in movement of control gear 53, and aradially depressed cam portion 58b extending over the remainder of theperiphery of control gear 53 so as to determine the state of switch SW₁in the stop and play positions of gear 53, that is, when the toothlessgap 56a or 56b faces toward pinion 52 (FIGS. 7A and 7C) and during thereturn movement of gear 53 at the conclusion of a record playingoperation (FIGS. 7D and 7E). Thus, switch SW₁, when actuated by camportion 58a, detects the lead-in operation of record player 10. Finally,as shown in broken lines on FIG. 5A, a pair of pins 59a and 59b dependfrom the lower surface of control gear 53 at diametrically opposedlocations that are slightly in advance of the locations of toothlessgaps 56b and 56a, respectively, considered in the counterclockwisedirection of rotation of control gear 53, as viewed from above.

In order to initiate the lead-in movement of control gear 53 from itsstop position (FIG. 5A) in which toothless gap 56a faces pinion 52, andthe return movement of gear 53 from its play position (FIG. 5B) in whichtoothless gap 56b faces pinion 52, control gear assembly 45 is furthershown to comprise lead-in and return clutch mechanisms 60 and 61,respectively, which are substantially diametrically opposed on the flatupper surface of control gear 53. As shown particularly on FIGS. 18, 19and 20, lead-in clutch mechanism 60 may be in the form of a one-piecemolded plastic lever pivoted, intermediate its ends, on a pin 62projecting upwardly from control gear 53 and having oppositely directedarms 60a and 60b which are at an angle to each other. The end of leverarm 60b has a cutout 60c therein which loosely receives a pin 63projecting upwardly from control gear 53 for limiting the angularmovement of lead-in clutch mechanism 60 to the engaged and disengagedpositions shown in full and broken lines respectively on FIG. 18. Clutchmechanism 60 further has a cam portion 60d extending outwardly from arm60a so as to project radially beyond the teeth 55b of control gear 53when clutch mechanism 60 is in its engaged position. As shown, lead-inclutch mechanism 60 is dimensioned and its pivot pin 62 is located sothat, in the engaged position of such clutch mechanism indicated in fulllines on FIG. 18, the free end of lever arm 60a projects above toothlessgap 56a of control gear 53. Finally, a projection 60e depends from leverarm 60a and extends downwardly through a hole 64 formed in control gear53 (FIG. 21) so as to be actuable by slide 46, as hereinafter describedin detail.

The return clutch mechanism 61 is shown to include an upper engagingmember 65 superposed on a lower cam member 66, with both members 65 and66 being pivotally mounted, intermediate their ends, on a pivot pin 67projecting from the upper surface of control gear 53 so that engagingmember 65 and cam member 66 are angularly displaceable relative to eachother and relative to gear 53. As shown, the upper engaging member 65 issubstantially in the form of a lever having oppositely directed arms 65aand 65b which are at an angle to each other, with engaging member 65being dimensioned and the pivot pin 67 being located so that, in anengaged position of clutch mechanism 61, as indicated in broken lines at61' on FIG. 19, the free end of arm 65a projects above toothless gap 56bof control gear 53. The angular displacement or swinging movement ofengaging member 65 relative to control gear 53 between its engagedposition shown in broken lines on FIG. 19 and on FIG. 20 and itsdisengaged position shown in full lines on FIGS. 18 and 19 is limited bya tab 65c directed downwardly from the free end of lever arm 65b andengaging loosely in a hole 68 formed in control gear 53. The angulardisplacement of engaging member 65 and cam member 66 relative to eachother is limited by engagement, in a hole 65d formed in lever arm 65b,of an upwardly struck tab or projection 66a extending from theunderlying cam member 66. The portion of the cam member 66 which extendsfrom pivot pin 67 in the same general direction as lever arm 65a isformed with a downwardly directed projection 66b which passes through ahole 69 in control gear 53 so as to be actuable by slide 46, ashereinafter described in detail. When member 66 is thus actuated, a camportion 66c thereof is made to project radially beyond teeth 55a on gear53, as shown on FIG. 20, and engaging member 65 is moved to its engagedposition through the lost-motion connection provided between members 65and 66 by the engagement of projection 66a in hole 65d.

Control gear assembly 45 is completed by an abutment or nose 52aextending radially outward from a rim 52b provided integrally withpinion 52 at the top of the latter. Thus, when lead-in clutch mechanism60 is displaced to its engaged position with gear 53 in its stopposition (FIG. 18), abutment 52a in rotating with pinion 52 acts on theend of lever arm 60a to propel the latter longitudinally and therebyinitiate turning of gear 53 until gear teeth 55a mesh with pinion 52 foreffecting the lead-in movement of gear 53. Similarly, when return clutchmechanism 61 is displaced to its engaged position with gear 53 in itsplay position (FIG. 19), abutment 52a acts on the end of lever arm 65ato propel the latter longitudinally and thereby initiate turning of gear53 until gear teeth 55b mesh with pinion 52 for effecting the returnmovement of gear 53.

As shown particularly on FIG. 21, actuating slide 46 is constituted byan elongated member formed with a step at its middle portion so as tohave upper and lower horizontal portions 46a and 46b respectivelydisposed above and below chassis 35 and being connected by a verticalportion 46c which extends through an opening 70 in the chassis. Upperhorizontal portion 46a extends between chassis 35 and the underside ofcontrol gear 53 and is formed with an elongated hole 71 through whichshaft 54 extends. An elongated hole 72 (FIGS. 18, 19 and 21) is formedin lower horizontal portion 46b and receives a guide roller 73 carriedby a post 74 depending from chassis 35. Further, a ball receiver 75 isfixed on chassis 35 under control gear 53 and is formed with a slit 75aalong which a steel ball 76 free to roll, and the free end portion ofupper horizontal portion 46a is formed with a slit 46d aligned with slit75a and also receiving ball 76, from which it follows that actuatingslide 46 is guided for free longitudinal sliding movement in respect tochassis 35 between operative and inoperative positions respectivelyshown in full lines on FIGS. 18 and 19. Further, the free end of upperhorizontal portion 46a of slide 46 is formed with an upwardly directed,V-shaped projection 46e which is selectively engageable with theprojection 60e of clutch mechanism 60 when control gear 53 is in itsstart position (FIG. 5A), or with the projection 66b of clutch mechanism61 when control gear 53 is in its play position (FIG. 5B) for actuatingthe respective clutch mechanism 60 or 61 to its engaged position inresponse to longitudinal movement of actuating slide 46 from itsinoperative position to its operative position. It is also to be notedthat the previously described pins 59a and 59b depending from controlgear 53 are radially positioned with respect to the axis of the latterso that, near the conclusion of the lead-in movement or the returnmovement of control gear 53 resulting from the meshing of its gear teeth55a or 55b, respectively, with pinion 52, the pin 59aor 59b,respectively, will act against a sloping flank of the V-shapedprojection 46e on actuating slide 46 for returning the latter from itsoperative position shown on FIG. 18 to its inoperative position shown onFIGS. 5A, 5B and 19.

As shown particularly on FIG. 21, an electromagnet 77 is supported by abracket 78 at the underside of chassis 35 adjacent opening 70 so that,upon energizing of electro-magnet 77, the latter will attract thevertical portion 46c of actuating slide 46 and thereby move the lattertoward the left, as viewed on the drawing, for displacement of slide 46from its inoperative position to its operative position.

As shown most clearly on FIGS. 7A-7E and 8A-8E, the main lever 47, whichis disposed above chassis 35, is pivoted, intermediate its ends, on theupper portion of a pivot pin 79 supported by chassis 35 at a locationbetween shaft 54 of control gear 53 and support shaft 29 of tone armassembly 16. Main lever 47 includes an arm 80 extending in the directionfrom pivot pin 79 under control gear 53, and such arm 80, at its freeend, carries a cam follower roller 81 which engages in cam groove 57 forangularly displacing main lever 47 between a stop position (FIG. 7A) anda play position (FIG. 7C) in resonse to turning of control gear 53. Mainlever 47 is further shown to include an arm 82 extending from pivot pin79 substantially in the direction opposed to arm 80 and reaching undershaft 38 of arm lifter 37 so as to support shaft 38 at the lower end ofthe latter (FIG. 4). At the portion of lever arm 82 where the latter isengaged by shaft 38, an extension 83 is directed rearwardly from leverarm 82 and terminates in a downwardly inclined ramp 84 which moves undershaft 38 in the play position of main lever 47 (FIG. 7C). Thus, arm 82of main lever 47 supports shaft 38 and arm lifter 37 in an elevatedposition corresponding to the raised position of tone arm 16 shown infull lines on FIG. 4 when main lever 47 is in its stop position (FIG.7A) and during lead-in and return movements of main lever 47 (FIG. 7B).However, at the conclusion of lead-in movement of main lever 47, thatis, when lever 47 attains its play position (FIG. 7C), downwardlyinclined ramp 84 moves under shaft 38 to permit downward movement of thelatter and of arm lifter 37 therewith so that tone arm 27 is lowered tothe position indicated in broken lines on FIG. 4 for engaging the stylus33 with a record R on turntable 14. The outer or free end portion oflever arm 82 is substantially L-shaped to provide a rearwardly directedextension 85 which, with previously mentioned extension 83, defines acutout 86 therebetween through which tone arm support shaft 29 canextend (FIG. 7A).

As shown particularly on FIGS. 9 and 10, tone arm drive mechanism 51includes upper and lower generally sector-shaped members 86 and 87,respectively, mounted on the lower end portion of tone arm support shaft29 so as to be turnable about the axis of the latter. A boss 88 issecured to shaft 29, as by a set screw 89 (FIG. 10), and the lowersector-shaped member 87 is suitably fixed to the lower end of boss 88 soas to be rotatably coupled with shaft 29. Boss 88 is further shown tohave a reduced diameter portion 88a above member 87 which is turnablyreceived in a hole in sector-shaped member 86 so that the latter isangularly displaceable about the axis of shaft 29 relative to the latterand to the lower sector-shaped member 87. A tension spring 90 isconnected between a radially extending arm 87a on member 87 and ananchor 86a on member 86 for urging the latter to turn in the clockwisedirection, as viewed on FIGS. 5A, 5B and 9, relative to member 87. Anadjustable limit screw 91 (FIG. 10) extends through a tapped hole in atab 87b depending from an edge of sector-shaped member 87 and isengageable against a tab 86b depending from sector-shaped member 86 foradjustably limiting the angular displacement of member 86 relative tomember 87 under the urging of spring 90. Pins 92 and 93 are directedupwardly from sector-shaped member 86 at spaced apart locations adjacentthe periphery of the latter. As hereinafter described in detail, pin 92is adapted to be acted upon for causing the lead-in and return swingingmovements of tone arm assembly 16. On the other hand, pin 93 ispositioned so that it may act against the free end 46f of lowerhorizontal portion 46b of actuating slide 46 for mechanically effectingthe movement of the latter from its inoperative positions to itsoperative position when tone arm assembly 16 is angularly displaced, atthe conclusion of a record playing operation, to the position indicatedin broken lines at 16' on FIG. 19 and which corresponds to theengagement of the stylus in the final non-recorded turns of the recordgroove.

In order to ensure that manual interference with the lead-in or returnswinging movements of tone arm 16 will not cause damage to automaticcontrol mechanism 44, the tone arm drive mechanism 51 is further shownto comprise a hooked lead-in drive member 94 and a return drive member95 (FIGS. 5A, 5B and 11). As shown particularly on FIG. 11, lead-indrive member 94 is pivotally mounted on, and extends rearwardly from apivot pin 96 directed upwardly from extension 85 of main lever 47. Atorsion spring 97 extends around pivot pin 96 and has legs 97a and 97bwhich respectively engage a keeper 98 on main lever 47 and a pin 99depending from drive member 94 so that spring 97 urges drive member 94in the counter-clockwise direction relative to lever extension 85, asviewed on FIGS. 5A and 5B, whereby to normally engage drive member 94with a stop pin 100 on lever extension 85. The free or rear end portionof drive member 94 has a nose or barb 101 extending from the sidethereof facing in the direction in which drive member 94 is urged byspring 97, and such nose 101 is shown to have angled flanks 101a and101b.

The return drive member 95 is shown to include a generally sector-shapedplate which, at its apex, is pivoted on a pin 102 depending from leverextension 85, and which has an arcuate slot 103 concentric with thepivoting axis of drive member 95 and slidably receiving a pin 104depending from lever extension 85 for limiting the pivotal movement ofdrive member 95 in respect to lever extension 85. An abutment 105 isdirected laterally outward from the sector-shaped plate of drive member95 for engagement with pin 92 on member 86 in effecting the returnswinging movement of tone arm assembly 16, as hereinafter described indetail. Further, a toggle spring 106 is provided with eyes 106a and 106bat its opposite ends which respectively engage a pin 107 depending fromdrive member 95 and the lower end of the pin 104 received in arcuateslot 103. The pin 107 is disposed so as to be substantially on a linewith pin 104 and pin 102 defining the pivoting axis of drive member 95when pin 104 is substantially at the center of arcuate slot 103, andtoggle spring 106 urges pins 104 and 107 away from each other.Therefore, toggle spring 106 may urge drive member 95 to an extendedposition, as shown on FIG. 5B and in full lines on FIGS. 8A and 8B, inwhich pin 104 engages one end of slot 103 and abutment 105 extendssubstantially outward from lever extension 85 so as to be engageablewith pin 92, as hereinafter described. Alternatively, toggle spring 106may urge drive member 95 to a retracted position, as shown on FIG. 5Aand in full lines on FIG. 8C, in which pin 104 engages the other end ofslot 103 and abutment 105 is near to the outer edge of lever extension85 so as to be movable past pin 92 without engaging the latter. As shownon FIGS. 5A and 5B, chassis 35 is provided with a projection 108engageable with the abutment 105 of drive member 95 for displacing thelatter at least half-way from its retracted position to its extendedposition, and thereby permitting toggle spring 106 to complete themovement of drive member 95 to its extended position in response tomovement of drive member 95, in its retracted position, with main lever47 to the conclusion of the lead-in movement of such main lever.

The lead-in lever 48 which is disposed below chassis 35 is shown to bepivotally mounted, at one end, on the same pivot pin 79 as main lever 47(FIGS. 5A, 5B and 7A-7E). Lead-in lever 48 is shown to extend in back oftone arm support shaft 29, and the free end portion of lever 48 isprovided with a forwardly directed extension 48a which is engageablewith pin 92 on member 86 for effecting the lead-in swinging movement oftone arm assembly 16 as hereinafter described in detail. A coupling pin109 is directed upwardly from the free end portion of lead-in lever 48through a cutout 35a (FIG. 2) in chassis 35, and such coupling pin 109is engageable by nose 101 of lead-in drive member 94 (FIG. 7B) forcausing lead-in lever 48 to follow the lead-in movement of main lever 47to the extent that record size selecting mechanism 49 permits suchmovement of lead-in lever 48. A portion 110 of chassis 35 (FIGS. 2, 5Aand 5B) which defines the back edge of cutout 35a acts as an abutmentengageable by pin 109 on lead-in lever 48 for limiting the returnswinging movement of lever 48 in the counter-clockwise direction asviewed on FIG. 5A.

In order to ensure that lead-in lever 48 will be smoothly swingableabout pivot pin 79, a flanged guide roller 111 is rotatably mounted onthe upper surface of the central portion of lever 48 and engages in anelongated arcuate slot 112 formed in chassis 35 so as to be concentricwith pivot pin 79. Smooth swinging movement of main lever 47 issimilarly ensured by a pin 113 depending from the middle portion of arm82 of lever 47 and slidably engaging in arcuate slot 112 with a washeron pin 113 being interposed between lever 47 and chassis 35.

Main lever 47 is further shown to include an arm 114 directed rearwardlyfrom pivot pin 79 substantially at right angles to arms 80 and 82. Inorder to detect a play operation of record player 10, a pin 115 dependsfrom arm 114 of main lever 47 through an arcuate slot 116 formed inchassis 35, as shown in broken lines on FIGS. 5A and 5B, and such pin115 is adapted to actuate a micro-switch SW₂ suitably mounted belowchassis 35. More particularly, switch SW₂ is disposed so as to beactuated by pin 115 and thereby detect the play operation of recordplayer 10 when main lever 47 is positioned as shown on FIG. 7C, that is,when main lever 47 is disposed by cam 57 in the position correspondingto the play position of control gear 53 in which the toothless gap 56bof the latter faces toward pinion 52.

As shown particularly on FIGS. 12-17, the record size selectingmechanism 49 may comprise a generally sector-shaped size selecting cammember 117 which is disposed below chassis 35, and which is pivoted on apin 117a depending from the chassis. The record size selecting knob 22is fixed on the upper end of a shaft 118 which is suitably journalled inupper panel 12 and which, at its lower end, has a radial arm 119 securedto shaft 118. The outer end of arm 119 is pivotally connected, as at120, to the forward end of an elongated link 121 which extendsrearwardly to the size selecting cam member 117. As shown particularlyon FIG. 15, an upwardly opening cylindrical housing 122 is formed as anintegral part of size selecting cam member 117 and is spaced radiallyfrom the pivoting axis of the latter defined by pin 117a. Thecylindrical housing 122, at its upper end, extends above size-selectingcam member 117, and the back end of link 121 is formed with a circularopening 121a which receives the upper end of cylindrical housing 122 forpivotally connecting link 121 to cam member 117. The cylindrical housing122 receives a detent ball 123 which is urged upwardly against theundersurface of chassis 35 by a helical compression spring 124 inhousing 122. Four suitably spaced apart holes 125 are formed in chassis35 along a circular arc corresponding to the path along which ball 123is moved in response to angular displacement of size-selecting cammember 117. Thus, the selective engagement of ball 123 in the holes 125provides a detent action for releasably retaining cam member 117 inangular positions respectively corresponding to three different set-downpositions during automatic lead-in operation of record player 10 and tomanual lead-in operation of the record player.

As shown particularly on FIG. 14, the four holes 125 for selectivelyreceiving detent ball 123 may be spaced apart by equal angles θ₁ of, forexample, 30°, while suitable indicia are provided on upper panel 12about knob 22 at locations spaced apart by angles θ₂ which may be equalto the angles θ₁ so as to indicate the positions of knob 22 forestablishing the set-down positions for three different size records,for example, records having diameters of 17cm., 25cm., and 30cm., andfor establishing the manual lead-in operation of the record player.

The generally arcuate edge of sector-shaped size-selecting cam member117 is shown to be formed with four stopper edge portions 126a, 126b,126c and 126d which are formed at equal angular intervals θ₃ of 30°along arcs of respective circles C₁, C₂, C₃ and C₄ at progressivelyincreasing radial distances from the pivot pin 117a for establishing theset-down positions for records having diameters of 17cm., 25cm. and30cm. and for selecting manual lead-in operation of the record player,respectively. Further, each of the stopper edge portions 126a-126d isshown to have an angular extent θ₄ of approximately 10°. It will beapparent that, in response to rotation of knob 22 to a selected positionindicated by the associated indicia on upper panel 12 of the cabinet,cam member 117 is similarly positioned to engage detent ball 123 in arespective one of the holes 125 and to dispose a respective one ofstopper edge portions 126a- 126d at the operative position indicated atP₁ on FIG. 14.

Further, in order to limit the swinging of lead-in lever 48 with mainlever 47 during the lead-in movement of the latter, an abutment member127 extends upwardly from a forwardly directed extension 48b at themiddle portion of lead-in lever 48 and is engageable with the one ofstopper edge portions 126a-126d then disposed at the operative positionP₁. As shown particularly on FIGS. 16 and 17, in order to provide forfine adjustment of the set-down positions established by stopper edgeportions 126a, 126b and 126c of cam member 117, abutment member 127 onlead-in lever 48 preferably is constituted by a cylindrical head 128eccentrically disposed on a support shaft 129 which passes rotatablythrough a hole 130 in extension 48b of lever 48. A relatively stronghelical compression spring 131 extends about support shaft 129 betweenthe undersurface of lever extension 48b and a washer 132 suitablysecured on the lower end of shaft 129 so that a flange 133 providedbetween head 128 and shaft 129 will be strongly pressed against theupper surface of lever extension 48b for frictionally maintaining anyrotationally adjusted position of abutment member 127.

It will be apparent that, by reason of the eccentricity e between theaxis of supporting shaft 129 and the axis of head 128, rotation ofabutment member 127 is effective to finely adjust the position oflead-in lever 48 at which the cylindrical surface of head 128 engages aselected one of the stopper edge portions 126a-126c on cam member 117for determining the respective set-down position of tone arm assembly16. In order to permit such rotational adjustment of abutment member127, head 128 thereof is formed with a slot 128a in its top surfacewhich may be engaged by the blade of a screw driver or other toolinserted through a hole 134 (FIGS. 5A and 7A) in main lever 47. The hole134 is positioned, as shown, to provide access to the slot 128a of head128 when main lever 47 is in its stop position and, of course, similarholes (not shown) are provided in upper panel 12 and in chassis 35 forregistration with hole 134 in the stop position of main lever 47.

In order to detect when the manual lead-in operation of record player 10has been established, a microswitch SW₃ is suitably mounted underchassis 35 (FIGS. 5A and 12) so as to be actuated by a radial or sideedge 135 of size-selecting cam member 117 when the latter is disposed,as indicated in broken lines at 117d on FIG. 12, for locating itsstopper edge portion 126d at the operative position P₁ of FIG. 14.

As shown particularly on FIG. 9, the brake mechanism 50 desirablyincludes a generally T-shaped brake operating lever 136 pivotallymounted under chassis 35 on a pivot pin 137 depending from the latter,and a brake operating lever 138 also disposed below chassis 35 and beingpivoted, at one end, on pin 137. Lever 136 is shown to have angularlyrelated arms 136a, 136b and 136c extending from its pivoting axis, and atension spring 139 is connected between a pin 140 on the free end of arm136c and an anchor pin 141 depending from chassis 35 for urging lever136 in the counter-clockwise direction, as viewed on FIGS. 5A and 5B.

In order to control the position of brake operating lever 136 independence on the position of main lever 47, a pin 142 depends from thefree end portion of rearwardly directed arm 114 of main lever 47 andextends downwardly through an arcuate slot 143 formed in chassis 35 soas to be concentric with the axis of pivot pin 79, as indicated inbroken lines on FIGS. 5A and 5B. At its lower end, pin 142 carries arotatable roller 144 which is engaged by either an oblique end edge 145or a contiguous longitudinal side edge 146 of lever arm 136a under theurging of spring 139 on brake operating lever 136. Arm 136a of lever 136is dimensioned and pivot pin 137 for such lever is located so that, whenmain lever 47 is in its stop position (FIG. 5A), roller 144 engagesoblique end edge 145 of lever arm 136a and so that, as main lever 47moves from its stop position (FIG. 5A) to its play position (FIG. 5B),that is, during the lead-in movement of main lever 47, roller 144 movesoff oblique end edge 145 and then along contiguous side edge 146 forinitially turning lever 136 in the clockwise direction against the forceof spring 139 and then permitting spring 139 to restore lever 136 to itsoriginal position.

Referring to FIG. 9, it will be seen that brake lever 138 is urged tofollow such clockwise movement of brake operating lever 136 by a tensionspring 147 connected between lever 138 and arm 136b. A limit screw 148extends threadably through a tapped hole in a tab 149 depending from aside edge of lever 138, and such limit screw 148 is engageable, at itsend, against an abutment or lug 150 provided at the free end of leverarm 136b for adjustably limiting the angular displacement of brake lever138 relative to operating lever 136 under the urging of spring 147.Finally, a brake pad or shoe 151 is mounted at the free end of brakelever 138 for frictional braking engagment with the circumferentialsurface of boss 88 on tone arm support shaft 29, for example, as shownon FIGS. 7B,7D and 7E when brake operating lever 136 is turned in theclockwise direction against the force of spring 139. It will be apparentthat the adjustment of limit screw 148 determines the initial angularposition of brake lever 138 relative to operating lever 136, is thuseffective to regulate the braking force applied by brake shoe or pad 151to collar or boss 88 when brake operating lever 136 is angularlydisplaced in the clockwise direction by roller 144 on main lever 47 forapplying the brake mechanism, that is, engaging brake pad 151 with boss88.

It is further to be noted that, when control gear 53 is in its stopposition (FIG. 7A), the force of spring 139 acting on lever 136 causesoblique end surface 145 of lever arm 136a to apply a force F₁ to roller144 which is directed to urge main lever 47 in the counterclockwisedirection about pivot 79. As a result of the urging of lever 47 in thecounterclockwise direction cam follower roller 81 is pressed into theinverted cusp or depression 57d defined in the inner wall surface of camgroove 57, whereby to prevent inadvertent movement of control gear 53from its stop positon in which toothless gap 56a faces pinion 52. On theother hand, when control gear 53 is in its play position (FIG. 7C), theforce of spring 139 acting on lever 136 causes side surface 146 of leverarm 136a to exert a force F₂ on engaged roller 144, which force F₂ isdirected to urge main lever 47 in the clockwise direction. Suchclockwise urging of main lever 47 presses cam follower roller 81 intothe inverted cusp or depression 57c formed in the outer wall surface ofcam groove 57 and thus prevents inadvertent angular displacement ofcontrol gear 53 from its play position in which the toothless gap 56bfaces pinion 52. Accordingly, the engagement of lever 136 with roller144 on main lever 47 serves the dual functions of controlling theoperation of brake mechanism 50 in response to the lead-in and returnmovements of main lever 47, and of ensuring that control gear 53 will beimmovably positioned at its stop position or at its play position untilsuch time as the lead-in movement or return movement of control gear 53is positively initiated by engagement of the clutch 60 or 61,respectively.

The above described record player 10 according to this inventionoperates as follows:

STOP CONDITION

In the stop condition of record player 10, power ON-OFF switch actuatoror knob 20 is in its OFF position whereby to deenergize motor 36.Further, in the stop condition of record player 10, control gearassembly 45, actuating slide 46, main lever 47, lead-in lever 48, brakemechanism 50 and tone arm drive mechanism 51 are all in the relativepositions shown on FIGS. 5A and 7A. Since vertically movable shaft 38 ofarm lifter 37 rests on the horizontal surface of arm 82 of main lever47, as shown in full lines on FIG. 4, shaft 38 is located at its raisedposition with the result that arm lifter 37 contacts, or is adjacent tothe lower surface of tone arm 27 which is resting on arm rest 34.Further, as previously described, by reason of the force F₁ applied bybrake operating lever 136 to roller 144 on main lever 47, cam followerroller 81 is securely urged into the inverted cusp or depression 57d inthe inner wall surface of cam groove 57 for positively holding controlgear 53 in its stop position with toothless gap 56a facing toward pinion52. Thus, control gear 53 cannot be inadvertently displaced from itsstop position by impacts or shocks applied to the record player, andthus control gear 53 will not be accidentally rotated by pinion 52 whenmotor 36 is initially energized.

FULLY AUTOMATIC OPERATION

Prior to initiating fully automatic operation of record player 10,record size selecting knob 22 is turned to the position thereofcorresponding to the diameter of a record R which has been placed onturntable 14 so that the respective one of stopper edge portions126a-126c of cam member 117 is disposed at the operative position P₁ onFIG. 14. With the record player in its stop condition, the manipulationof power ON-OFF switch actuator 20 to its ON position merely suppliespower to the circuits (not shown) of the record player. However, motor36 remains denergized, and hence turntable 14 remains at rest, untilstart-stop switch actuator 18 is manipulated or touched to initiate anautomatic operation of the record player.

LEAD-IN OPERATION

Upon such manipulation of switch actuator 18, motor 36 is energized forrotating driving shaft 15 and turntable 14 at a predetermined speed inthe direction of the arrow c on FIG. 2. The manipulation or touching ofswitch actuator 18 further causes the momentary energizing ofelectromagnet 77 for attracting the vertical portion 46c of actuatingslide 46 and thereby displacing the latter in the direction of actuatingslide 46, projection 46e at the end of horizontal slide portion 46a actsagainst projection 60e of clutch mechanism 60 for displacing the latterto its engaged position shown in full lines on FIG. 18. In such engagedposition of clutch mechanism 60, the free end of its arm 60a is urgedagainst the rim 52b at the top of pinion 52 so as to be interposed inthe path of movement of abutment 52a with pinion 52. Accordingly, asabutment or nose 52a rotates in the direction of the arrow c on FIG. 18with pinion 52 on driving shaft 15 such abutment 52a comes intoengagement with the end of arm 60a and pushes the latter longitudinallyin the direction of the arrow e (FIG. 18). The resulting incrementalrotation of control gear 53 in the direction of arrow f is sufficient todisplace toothless gap 56a away from pinion 52 and to cause meshingengagement of the latter with teeth 55a. Upon the engagement of teeth55a with pinion 52, drive gear 53 is rotated in the direction of arrow fthrough an angular displacement of 180°. During such angulardisplacement or lead-in movement of control gear 53, pin 59a dependingtherefrom moves against one of the sloping or slanting flanks ofV-shaped projection 46e on actuating slide 46 to exert a cam action onthe latter for returning the slide 46 to its inoperative position shownin broken lines on FIGS. 18 and 21. It will be noted that, by the timepin 59a is thus effective to return slide 46 to its inoperativeposition, electromagnet 77 is deenergized. During the lead-in movementof control gear 53 through the angular extent of 180°, depression orinverted cusp 57d moves away from cam follower roller 81 and the latteris guided by cam groove portion 57a (FIG. 7B) until, at the completionof the lead-in movement of gear 53, roller 81 engages inverted cusp ordepression 57c (FIG. 7C). Further, at the start of the lead-in movementof control gear 53, switch SW₁ is actuated by the radially raised camportion 58a for electrically detecting the lead-in operation of therecord player.

During the guiding of cam follower roller 81 by cam groove portion 57ain the course of the lead-in movement of control gear 53, roller 81 isdisplaced in the direction of the arrow g away from shaft 54 (FIG. 7B)so as to effect angular displacement or lead-in movement of main lever47 in the direction of the arrow h (FIG. 7B) from the position shown onFIG. 7A to the position shown on FIG. 7C.

It is to be noted that the lead-in movement of tone arm 27 to theset-down position predetermined by the setting of record size selectingmechanism 49 is completed prior to the arrival of main lever 47 at theextreme or play position shown on FIG. 7C. More particularly, as mainlever 47 is turned in the direction of the arrow h from the positionthereof shown on FIG. 7A, the flank 101a of nose 101 on hooked lead-indrive member 94 on lever 47 is moved against coupling pin 109 on lead-inlever 48 (FIG. 7B) so that lead-in lever 48 is thereafter urged to movewith main lever 47 in the direction of arrow h. As lead-in lever 48 ismoved with main lever 47 in the direction of the arrow h on FIG. 7B,forwardly directed extension 48a of the lead-in lever engages pin 92 onupper sector-shaped member 86 for turning the latter in the clockwisedirection about the axis of shaft 29. Such turning of uppersector-shaped member 86 is transmitted to lower sector-shaped member 87which is fixed relative to shaft 29 through the engagement of tab 86b onmember 86 with limit screw 91 carried by member 87. Thus, so long aslead-in lever 48 is turned with main lever 47 in the direction of arrowh on FIG. 7B, tone arm support shaft 29 is turned in the direction toeffect lead-in movement of tone arm 27, as indicated by the arrow i onFIG. 2. During such lead-in movement of tone arm 27, the latter slideson the elevated arm lifter 37 and thus is in its raised position shownin full lines on FIG. 4 and the needle or stylus 33 is spaced from therecord R as it moves inwardly over the latter.

Upon completion of a predetermined lead-in movement of tone arm 27established by the previous setting of record size selecting knob 22,abutment member 127 on lead-in lever 48 engages the one of the stopperedge portions 126a-126c of record size selecting cam member 117 thendisposed at the operative position, for example, the stopper edgeportion 126b as shown on FIG. 7B, so as to prevent further movement oflead-in lever 48 with main lever 47 in the direction of arrow h.Thereafter, during further movement of main lever 47 in the direction ofarrow h, the angled flank 101a of nose 101 on drive member 94 and thenthe angled flank 101b cams across coupling pin 109 while drive member 94is yieldably urged against pin 109 by the force of spring 97 untilfinally nose 101 is released from coupling pin 109 and the lead-inmovement of main lever 47 can continue independently of lead-in lever48. As main lever 47 continues to turn in the direction of arrow h onFIG. 7B, for example, to the play position shown on FIG. 7C, downwardlyinclined ramp 84 of main lever 47 moves under shaft 38 so as to permitgravitationally induced downward movement of shaft 38 and of arm lifter37 therewith so that tone arm 27 is lowered to the position shown inbroken lines on FIG. 4 and needle or stylus 33 engages record R at thepreviously predetermined set-down position. Upon such engagement of theneedle or stylus 33 with record R, the lead-in operation of recordplayer 10 is completed and a play operation thereof is commenced.

It will be seen that, during the camming of flank 101b on nose 101across coupling pin 109 in the course of the above described release ofnose 101 from pin 109, spring 97 acting on lead-in drive member 94provides a component of force on coupling pin 109 which causescounter-clockwise displacement of lead-in lever 48 in the direction ofarrow h' on FIG. 7B, for example, to the position indicated in brokenlines at 48'. By reason of such counter-clockwise displacement oflead-in lever 48, the extension 48a of the latter is separated from pin92 on upper sector-shaped member 86. Therefore, when needle or stylus 33is engaged with the groove of record R at the commencement of the playoperation, lead-in lever 48 is already separated from pin 92 and willnot restrain swinging movement of tone arm 27 in the outward directionindicated by the arrow i' on FIG. 2, as might be caused by eccentricityof the sound groove in record R. Accordingly, during the play operation,and particularly at the commencement thereof, needle or stylus 33 isfree to precisely follow the sound groove of record R and there is nodanger that either the needle or sound groove will be damaged as aresult of restraints on the movement of the needle.

As main lever 47 attains its play position at the completion of thelead-in movement thereof, pin 115 depending from main lever 47 actuatesswitch SW₂ so that the latter electrically detects the commencement of aplay operation, Furthermore, as main lever 47 nears its play position,abutment 105 of return drive member 95 is engaged with projection 108 ofthe chassis for causing angular displacement of return drive member 95from its retracted position and permitting toggle spring 106 to completethe movement of drive member 95 to its extended position, as shown onFIG. 5B. At the completion of the lead-in movement or turning of controlgear 53 through 180° from the stop position of FIGS. 5A and 7A to theplay position of FIGS. 5B and 7C, the actuator of switch SW₁ moves fromthe raised portion 58a to the depressed portion 58b of radial cam 58 soas to electrically detect the completion of the lead-in operation. Byreason of the direction of the force F₂ (FIG. 7C) applied to main lever47 by brake operating lever 136 under the influence of spring 139, mainlever 47 is urged in the direction for pressing cam follower roller 81thereon into the inverted cusp or depression 57c in the outer wallsurface of cam groove 57 for positively holding control gear 53 in itsplay position with toothless gap 56b facing toward pinion 52. Thus, uponcompletion of the lead-in operation, control gear 53 cannot beinadvertently displaced from its play position by impacts or shocksapplied to the record player and, therefore, will not be accidentallyrotated by pinion 52 during the following play operation.

It is to be noted that during the lead-in operation of record player 10,a suitable braking force is applied by brake mechanism 50 to the collaror boss 88 on tone arm support shaft 29 so that the lead-in movement oftone arm 27 to its predetermined set-down position is smoothly effected.More particularly, during the initial portion of the lead-in movement ofmain lever 47 in the direction of the arrow h on FIG. 7B, roller 144moves off oblique end edge 145 of brake operating lever 136 and thenalong the contiguous side edge 146 for initially turning lever 136 inthe clockwise direction against the force of spring 139. Brake lever 138is urged by spring 147 to follow such clockwise movement and therebyapply brake pad 151 against boss 88 for exerting the desired brakingforce. However, during the final lead-in movement of main lever 47 toits play position (FIGS. 5B and 7C), roller 144 moves further along sideedge 146 of brake operating lever 136 to permit spring 139 to return thelatter in the counterclockwise direction substantially to its originalposition. By reason of the engagement of limit screw 148 with lug 150,brake lever 138 is made to follow the counter-clockwise turning of brakeoperating lever 136 for separating brake pad 151 from collar or boss 88so that the braking force is not applied to boss 88 and tone arm supportshaft 29 at the completion of the lead-in operation and during thesubsequent play operation of record player 10.

Furthermore, in the described record player 10, the tone arm drivemechanism 51 ensures that none of the parts of automatic controlmechanism 44 will be damaged in the event that an unexpected force isapplied to tone arm 27 in the direction of the arrow i or in thedirection of the arrow i' on FIG. 2, for example, by the hand of theuser, during the lead-in operation.

With reference to the determination by record size selecting mechanism49 of the set-down position of tone arm 27 during a lead-in operation ofrecord player 10, it will be seen that, by reason of the stopper edgeportions 126a-126d on size-selecting cam member 117 being formed as arcsof concentric circles C₁ -C₄, respectively, each having a substantialangular extent θ₄ of approximately 10°, the desired set-down positionwill always be accurately determined by engagement of abutment member127 on lead-in lever 48 with a selected one of the stopper edge portions126a-126d even when size-selecting cam member 117 is only roughlypositioned. Further, since the positions of size-selecting cam member117 for determining the set-down positions for records having diametersof 17cm., 25cm. and 30cm., and for establishing manual operation,respectively, can be spaced apart by the equal angular intervals θ₃ of,for example, 30°, and the knob 22 may be similarly angularly displacedthrough equal angular intervals of 30° for selecting the respectiveset-down positions and establishing manual operation, respectively, themanual actuation of knob 22 by the user is advantageously simplified. Inother words, with the described construction of the record sizeselecting mechanism 49, equal angular intervals between the severalpositions of size-selecting cam member 117 can be employed even thoughthe respective set-down positions of tone arm 27 are not equallyangularly spaced from each other. The foregoing will be apparent fromFIG. 12 in which dotted lines, solid lines and dot-dash lines areemployed to illustrate the relative positions of size-selecting cammember 117, lead-in lever 48 and tone arm 27 with the head shell 31extending therefrom for the set-down positions corresponding to recordshaving diameters of 17cm., 25cm. and 30cm., respectively. Further, onFIG. 12, double dot-dash lines are employed for indicating the positionsof cam member 117, lead-in lever 48 and tone arm 27 when manualoperation is selected.

As previously noted, each of the selected set-down positions of the tonearm can be finely adjusted by rotational adjustment of abutment member127 which is engageable with a selected one of stopper edge portions126a-126d for limiting the lead-in movement of lever 48. However, suchadjustment of abutment member 127 can only be effected when main lever47 is in its stop position for aligning hole 134 in main lever 47 withsimilar holes in upper panel 12 and chassis 35 to permit a screwdriverblade to have access through such aligned holes to the slot 128a in thetop surface of head 128 of abutment member 127. When main lever 47 is inits stop position to permit adjustment of abutment member 127, armlifter 37 is held in its raised position by main lever 47. Accordingly,if tone arm 27 is accidentally displaced from arm rest 34 during theadjustment of abutment 127, tone arm 27 merely slides on arm lifter 37and there is no danger that the tone arm will inadvertently drop ontoturntable 14 and damage needle 33. Accordingly, the fine adjustment ofthe set-down position can be safely effected.

PLAY OPERATION

At the completion of the lead-in movement of control gear 53, that is,at the start of the play operation of record player 10, the positions ofclutch mechanisms 60 and 61 are the reverse of the positions thereof inthe stop condition of the record player, that is, downwardly directedprojection 66bof the underlying cam member 66 of clutch mechanism 61 isadjacent the projection 46e on actuating slide 46 (FIG. 19). Further, atthe commencement of the play operation, pin 93 is spaced from end 46f ofactuating slide 46, as shown in full lines on FIG 19. During the playoperation, the engagement of needle 33 in the spiral groove of record Rcauses the progressive inward swinging of the tone arm in the directionof the arrow i on FIG. 19.

RETURN OPERATION

When needle 33 has reached the inner end of the spiral groove in recordR, for example, when the tone arm assembly 16 has reached the positionindicated in broken lines at 16' on FIG. 19, pin 93 on uppersector-shaped member 86 moves to the position indicated in broken linesat 93' and acts against the adjacent end 46f of actuating slide 46 fordisplacing the latter in the direction of the arrow d. As a result ofsuch displacement of actuating slide 46, projection 46e at the endthereof acts against projection 66b of underlying cam member 66 forturning the latter in the counterclockwise direction about pivot pin 67.Due to the frictional engagement of engaging member 65 with cam member66, engaging member 65 is turned with the underlying cam member 66, forestablishing the engaged condition of clutch mechanism 61, for example,as indicated in broken lines at 61' on FIG. 19. In such engagedcondition of clutch mechanism 61, the free end of arm 65a of engagingmember 65 projects above toothless gap 56b of control gear 53 againstthe rim 52b at the top of pinion 52 so as to be interposed in the pathof movement of abutment 52a. Accordingly, as abutment or nose 52arotates with pinion 52 in the direction of arrow c on FIG. 19, abutment52a comes into engagement with the end of arm 65a and pushes the latterlongitudinally to effect an incremental rotation of control gear 53 inthe direction of the arrow f. Such incremental rotation of gear 53 issufficient to displace toothless gap 56b away from pinion 52 and tocause meshing engagement of the latter with teeth 55b. Upon theengagement of teeth 55b with pinion 52, control gear 53 is rotated inthe direction of arrow f through an angular displacement of 180° foreffecting a return operation of control mechanism 44. During suchhalf-revolution or return movement of control gear 53, pin 59b dependingtherefrom moves against one of the sloping or slanting flanks ofV-shaped projection 46e on actuating slide 46 for returning the slide toits inoperative position indicated in full lines on FIG. 19.

During the return movement of control gear 53, depression or invertedcusp 57c moves away from cam follower roller 81 and the latter is guidedby cam groove portion 57b (FIG. 7D) until, at the completion of thereturn movement of gear 53, roller 51 again enages inverted cusp ordepression 57d (FIG. 8C). During the guiding of cam follower roller 81by cam groove portion 57b in the course of the return movement ofcontrol hear 53, roller 81 is displaced in the direction toward shaft 54so as to effect angular displacement or return movement of main lever 47in the direction of the arrow h' (FIG. 7D) from the position shown onFIG. 7C to the position shown on FIG. 8C. At the commencement of suchreturn movement of main lever 47 in the direction of the arrow h', pin115 on main lever 47 is separated from the actuator of play detectingswitch SW₂ so as to electrically indicate that the play operation hasbeen terminated. Further, at the commencement of the return movement ofmain lever 47, inclined ramp 84 on main lever 47 moves out from underarm lifter shaft 38 so that the latter is raised and thereaftersupported on the horizontal portion of main lever 47, with the resultthat arm lifter 37 is raised for lifting tone arm 27 and separatingneedle 33 from the record R during the return operation. As the returnmovement of main lever 47 is continued, abutment 105 of return drivemember 95 in its extended position engages pin 92 on upper sector-shapedmember 86 so as to push that pin 92 in the direction of the arrow h' onFIG. 8B. Thus, sector-shaped member 86 is turned in thecounter-clockwise direction about tone arm support shaft 29 and thelower sector-shaped member 87 is made to follow such turning movement ofmember 86 through the connecting spring 90, with the result that tonearm 27 is made to swing outwardly in the direction of the arrow i' onFIG. 2 while being held in its raised position on arm lifter 37.

During the return movement of main lever 47 in the direction of thearrow h'on FIG. 7D, the angled flank 101b on nose 101 of drive member 94acts against coupling pin 109 on lead-in lever 48 for similarly turningthe lead-in lever in the direction of the arrow h' about pivot pin 79.

The several parts of control mechanism 44 are dimensioned and arrangedso that the return swinging movement of tone arm 27 to its rest positionon arm rest 34 is completed prior to the completion of the returnmovement of control gear 53, for example, at a time when control gear 53is in the position shown on FIG. 7E. When control gear 53 attains theposition shown on FIG. 7E, pin 109 on lead-in lever 48 engages abutment110 of the chassis so as to prevent further return swinging movement oflead-in lever 48. Therefore, during the final return movement of controlgear 53 to the stop position indicated on FIG. 8C, nose 101 of drivemember 94 cams over coupling pin 109 so as to be again engaged in backof the latter, as indicated in broken lines on FIG. 7E. Further, duringthe final return movement of control gear 53, for example, from theposition shown on FIG. 7E to the stop position shown on FIG. 8C, thatis, during the final return movement of main lever 47 from the positionshown in broken lines at 47' on FIG. 8C to the position shown in fulllines thereon, additional turning of upper sector-shaped member 86 isblocked by the engagement of tone arm 27 with arm rest 34 and,therefore, movement of pin 92 by abutment 105 of return drive member 95is arrested. Accordingly, during movement of the main lever from theposition indicated in broken lines at 47' to the position shown in fulllines on FIG. 8C, pin 92 reacts against abutment 105 of return drivemember 95 for displacing the latter from its extended position indicatedin broken lines at 95' to its retracted position where it is thereafterheld by toggle spring 106.

During the final return movement of control gear 53 back to its stopposition shown on FIG. 5A, clutch mechanism 60, which has been in itsengaged position since initiation of the previously described lead-inoperation, is returned to its disengaged position. Such return of clutchmechanism 60 from its engaged position to its disengaged position iseffected by the movement of its projecting cam portion 60d across theperiphery of drve gear 52. Accordingly, when control gear 53 returns toits original or stop position in which toothless gap 56a faces towardsdrive gear 52, nose or abutment 52a can rotate with drive gear or pinion52 without engaging arm 60a of clutch mechanism 60. Further, upon thereturn movement of control gear 53 to its stop position (FIG. 7A)inverted cusp or depression 57b of cam 57 is again located at camfollower roller 81 and the latter is pressed into such inverted cusp ordepression by the force F₁ applied to main lever 47 from brake controllever 136 so that control gear 53 is again held securely againstinadvertent displacement from its stop position.

It is also to be noted that, during the above described returnoperation, brake mechanism 50 applies a braking force to collar or boss88 on tone arm support shaft 29 for braking the return movement of tonearm 27 to its rest position in a manner similar to the above descriptionof the application of the braking force during the lead-in operation.More particularly, during the return movement of main lever 47 in thedirection of the arrow h' on FIGS, 7D and 7E, roller 144 on main lever47 moves toward the left along side edge 146 of brake control lever 136so as to turn the brake control lever in the clockwise direction andthereby press brake shoe or pad 151 on brake lever 138 against collar orboss 88 on tone arm support shaft 29. However, during the final portionof the return movement of the main lever 47 to its stop position, roller144 moves onto oblique end edge 145 of brake control lever 136 so as topermit spring 139 to turn lever 136 in the counterclockwise directionand thereby separate brake shoe or pad 151 from boss 88, as shown onFIG. 5A.

It will be seen that the control mechanism 44 is constructed andarranged to prevent any damage to its several parts in the event that,during the described return operation thereof, an unexpected force isapplied to tone arm 27 for example, by the hand of the user, either inthe direction of the arrow i or in the direction of the arrow i' on FIG.2.

REJECT OPERATION

At any time during a play operation of control mechanism 44, thestart-stop switch actuator 18 may be manipulated or touched formomentarily energizing electromagnet 77 and thereby initiating a rejectoperation. The momentary energizing of electromagnet 77 causesdisplacement of actuating slide 46 in the direction of the arrow d onFIG. 19 so that the end projection 46e of the actuating slide is theneffective to displace clutch mechanism 61 to its engaged position as hasbeen described above in connection with the initiation of a returnoperation. Following such movement of clutch mechanism 61 to its engagedposition, the reject operation proceeds in the same manner as the returnoperation, so that tone arm 27 is returned to its rest position on armrest 34 and the several parts of control mechanism 44 are returned tothe positions thereof shown on FIG. 5A.

MANUAL OPERATION

When it is desired to effect manual operation of record player 10, knob22 is set to the position for manual operation so as to dispose stopperedge portion 126d of cam member 117 at the operative position P₁ on FIG.14. With control mechanism 44 in its stop condition, arm lifter 37 isheld in its raised position by the engagement of its support shaft 38with the horizontal portion of main lever 47, and tone arm 27 ismanually displaced inwardly in the direction of the arrow i on FIG. 2 tothe desired set-down position. During such manual displacement of tonearm 27, the latter slides across raised arm lifter 37 so that needle 33is elevated in respect to record R on turntable 14. Since return drivemember 95 is in its retracted position when control mechanism 44 is inits stop condition (FIG. 5A), the abutment 105 of drive member 95 isspaced inwardly in respect to the arcuate path of movement of pin 92about tone arm support shaft 29 so as to avoid interference with thedescribed manually effected inward swinging of the tone arm to thedesired set-down position.

After having manually located tone arm 27 at the desired set-downposition, start-stop switch actuator 18 is manipulated or touched sothat, as in the previously described lead-in operation, electromagnet 77is momentarily energized to displace actuating slide 46 in the directionof the arrow d on FIG. 18 for engaging clutch mechanism 60. Thus,turning of control gear 53 through a half revolution from the positionof FIG. 5A to the position of FIG. 5B is initiated for effectingcorresponding swinging of main lever 47. However, when manual operationhas been selected, the engagement of abutment 127 on lead-in lever 48with stopper edge portion 126d on size-selecting cam member 117 preventssubstantial movement of lead-in lever 48 away from its stop position onFIG. 5A. Therefore, as main lever 47 is turned in the direction of thearrow h on FIG. 7B, lead-in lever 48 remains in its stop position andlead-in drive member 94 has its nose 101 disengaged from coupling pin109 on the lead-in lever. When main lever 47 arrives at its playposition (FIG. 7C), downwardly inclined ramp 84 moves under shaft 38 soas to permit gravitationally induced downward movement of shaft 38 andof arm lifter 37 thereon so that tone arm 27 is lowered and the needleor stylus 33 engages record R at the previously manually selectedset-down position. Upon such engagement of needle of stylus 33 withrecord R, the play operation of record player 10 commences.

If desired, during manual operation, the vertical movements of armlifter 37, and hence the lowering of tone arm 27 for engaging needle orstylus 33 with record R at a previously manually selected set-downposition may be controlled by the manually actuable cueing controlhandle 40. In other words, handle 40 may be initially disposed tomaintain arm lifter 37 in its raised position even when main lever 47attains its play position (FIG. 5B) with inclined ramp 84 under shaft38. Thereafter, when it is desired to initiate the play operation,handle 40 is manipulated to lower shaft 38 and arm lifter 37, andthereby cause engagement of the needle or stylus with the record.

During the above described manual operation of record player 10, thereturn operation of control mechanism 44 and/or the reject operationthereof may occur in the same manner as has been previously describedwith respect to the fully automatic operation of the record player.

Referring now to FIG. 22, it will be seen that, in a modified recordsize selecting mechanism 49' as there illustrated, the several partswhich are the same as those employed in the previously describedmechanism 49 are identified by the same reference numerals. The recordsize selecting mechanism 49' is shown to differ from the previouslydescribed mechanism 49 only in respect to the shape of its cam member317 which replaces the size selecting cam member 117. In the sizeselecting cam member 317, the radial distance from the pivot 117a to itsarcuate edge 326 varies continuously along the latter, that is, edge 326may be constituted by the arc of a circle having its centereccentrically located in respect to pivot pin 117a. With the record sizeselecting mechanism 49', the set-down position of tone arm assembly 16determined by the engagement of abutment 127 on lead-in lever 48 witharcuate edge 326 of cam member 317 can be continuously adjusted, ratherthan being varied in a step-by-step manner, as in the case of thepreviously described record size selecting mechanism 49. Thus, in arecord player according to this invention having the mechanism 49' fordetermining the set-down position of tone arm assembly 16, knob 22 canbe manipulated to cause set-down of the needle or stylus 33 at anydesired position on a long-playing record for playing or reproducingonly a desired portion or selection on such record.

In the illustrated record player 10, a single switch actuator 18 hasbeen shown for both starting the operation of control mechanism 44 andfor stopping such operation or initiating a reject operation. However,it will be apparent that separate switch actuators may be employed forperforming the starting function and the stopping or rejecting function,respectively.

It will be apparent that, in the described control mechanism 44according to this invention, the lead-in movement of tone arm 27 iseffected by the engagement of cam follower roller 81 in lead-in camgroove portion 57a and is transmitted to tone arm 27 through pivotedmain lever 47 and pivoted lead-in lever 48 releasably coupled to thelatter by lead-in drive member 94 engaging coupling pin 109, and by themovement of extension 48a of the lead-in lever against pin 92 on member86 which is rotatably coupled with the tone-arm assembly. In theforegoing arrangement employing only pivoted members for effectinglead-in movement of the tone arm, relatively little play need beprovided in the pivotal mounts for ensuring their freedom of movement.Therefore, little or no variation need occur, from one record player tothe next, between the set-down positions of the tone arm which aredetermined by the engagement of abutment 127 on lead-in lever 48 with aselected one of the stopper edge portions 126a-126c on thesize-selecting cam member 117. Further, any variation that does occurcan be easily removed by adjustment of abutment 127, as previouslydescribed. Moreover, when abutment 127 engages a selected edge portionon size selecting cam member 117 for accurately determining the set-downposition of tone arm 27 and for halting further swinging of lead-inlever 48 with main lever 47, whereupon, lead-in drive member 94disengages coupling pin 109 on the lead-in lever, and pin 92 on member86 moves away from extension 48a of the lead-in lever during the playoperation. Thus, the mechanical arrangement for effecting the lead-inmovement of the tone arm is physically disconnected from tone armassembly 16 during the play operation and cannot adversely influence thetracking of the record groove by the pickup stylus 33.

Although illustrative embodiments of the invention have been describedin detail herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is tobe understood that the invention is not limited to those preciseembodiments, and that various changes and modifications may be effectedtherein by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope orspirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. In a phonograph record player having a rotatableturntable for supporting a phonograph record during the playing thereof,drive means for rotating said turntable, and a tone arm assemblyincluding a tone arm carrying a pickup with a stylus to track the grooveof a phonograph record on said turntable during a play operation andbeing mounted for lateral swinging across said turntable and for raisingand lowering the tone arm relative to said turntable: a controlmechanism operative in a lead-in mode for effecting lead-in movement ofsaid tone arm from an elevated rest position outside the perimeter ofsaid turntable to a selected set-down position of said stylus on arecord supported by said turntable so as to commence a play operation,and in a return mode for effecting a return movement of said tone arm tosaid rest position upon the termination of said play operation, saidcontrol mechanism comprisinga drive gear rotatable by said drive means;a control gear having a cam groove therein and being turned by saiddrive gear in said lead-in and return modes of operation; a pivotallymounted main lever having a cam follower engaging said cam groove foreffecting swinging movements of said main lever in first direction froma stop position to a play position and in a second direction back tosaid stop position in response to the turning of said control gear insaid lead-in and return modes of operation, respectively; a lead-inlever mounted for pivoting about an axis apart from the axis of swingingof the tone arm; releasable coupling means for urging said lead-in leverto swing with said main lever in said first direction; tone arm drivemeans for swinging said tone arm in the direction of said lead-inmovement thereof in response to the swinging of said lead-in lever withsaid main lever in said first direction; a record size selecting memberwhich is turntable about a fixed axis and which has an edge comprised ofportions at different radial distances from said fixed axis; manuallyactuable control means for turning said record size selecting member andthereby operatively disposing a selected one of said edge portionsthereof; and abutment means on said lead-in lever defining an abutmentsurface engageable with the operatively disposed edge portion of saidrecord size selecting member for corresondingly limiting the swinging ofsaid lead-in lever with said main lever in said first direction andthereby determining said selected set-down position, said abutmentsurface being cylindrical and said abutment means being rotatablyadjustable in respect to said lead-in lever about an axis which iseccentric in respect to said cylindrical abutment surface for finelyadjusting said set-down position.
 2. In a phonograph record playerhaving a rotatable turntable for supporting a phonograph record duringthe playing thereof, drive means for rotating said turntable, and a tonearm assembly including a tone arm carrying a pickup with a stylus totrack the groove of a phonograph record on said turntable during a playoperation and being mounted for lateral swinging across said turntableand for raising and lowering of the tone arm relative to said turntable:a control mechanism operative in a lead-in mode for effecting lead-inmovement of said tone arm from an elevated rest position outside theperimeter of said turntable to a selected set-down position of saidstylus on a record supported by said turntable so as to commence a playoperation, and in a return mode for effecting a return movement of saidtone arm to said rest position upon the termination of said playoperation, said control mechanism comprisinga drive gear rotatable bysaid drive means; a control gear having a cam groove therein and beingturned by said drive gear in said lead-in and return modes of operation;a pivotally mounted main lever having a cam follower engaging said camgroove for effecting swinging movements of said main lever in a firstdirection from a stop position to a play position and in a seconddirection back to said stop position in response to the turning of saidcontrol gear in said lead-in and return modes of operation,respectively;a pivotally mounted lead-in lever; releasable couplingmeans for urging said lead-in lever to swing with said main lever insaid first direction; tone arm drive means for swinging said tone arm inthe direction of said lead-in movement thereof in response to theswinging of said lead-in lever with said main lever in said firstdirection; a record size selecting member which is turntable about afixed axis and which has an edge comprised of portions at differentradial distances from said fixed axis; manually actuable control meansfor turning said record size selecting member and thereby operativelydisposing a selected one of said edge portions thereof; abutment meanson said lead-in lever defining an abutment surface engageable with theoperatively disposed edge portion of said record size selecting memberfor correspondingly limiting the swinging of said lead-in lever withsaid main lever in said first direction and thereby determining saidselected set-down position, said abutment surface being cylindrical andsaid abutment means being rotatably adjustable in respect to saidlead-in lever about an axis which is eccentric in respect to saidcylindrical abutment surface for finely adjusting said set-downposition; said main lever being disposed above said lead-in lever andhaving an opening through which said abutment means is accessible forthe rotational adjustment of the latter only when said main lever is insaid stop position; and arm lifting means controllable by said mainlever to hold said tone arm in an elevated position and to lower saidtone arm for engagement of said stylus with the record only when themain lever is in said play position thereof.